[mattman059]

Just for the record I searched for this topic and i got a post about Linux on a 1gb stick, but I was wondering what OS you can put on an external HD that connects via usb:

reference:http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=21822&st=0


I have a 250GB external that I would like to put an OS on for experimenting and testing and just my own curiousity..I am looking for one that is free/cheap, easy to install and maintain...any suggetsions?

[PsychoCoder]

Were you looking to install a distro of Linux on it, ot a version of Windows. As long as the external drive has the capacity to be booted from, you should be able to load just about any distro of Linux on it.

As far as a distro, I would suggest Ubuntu, Gentoo or even PCLinuxOS if you're a beginner. If you're an experienced user I'd go with something like Fedora, but those are just my opinions.

[capty99]

its easy enough to install whatever you want on there,
just say if you were doing windows you pop in your cd and point it to install on that external.


the issue is if that drive is going to be able to be bootable or not, some older computers just won't let you boot to a usb hd

[mattman059]

How would i go about checking to see if the HD will be bootable?

Ive got a copy of Windows Server 2003 as well as a copy of Ubuntu 6.06.

I would like to try them on the external (probably separately im not gonna try a dual boot)

[mattman059]

I'm noticing a lot of "Live CD" floating around these linux sites (PClinuxOS and Ubuntu) what is a live cd?

[PsychoCoder]

A Live CD is a CD with the OS on it that you can load straight from the CD, as if you installed the OS. The main disadvantage is when running from a Live CD your settings arent saved each time you log off the machine. This gives you the opportunity to "test drive" the OS without having to actually install it, but it gives you the full functionality of the OS as well.

[number2]

Yeah, a live cd boots from a cd and uses ram the same as a hard disk. If you have enough ram some live cds can run entirely from ram. This make things like starting firefox nearly instant. If you dont have enough ram perfomance will be very poor as everything must be read from a cd(slow). Experimenting with a livecd would be better than one on a hard disk because everything is lost after reboot.